(PHOTO: REUTERS/MARIO ANZUONI)
Rap artist Nicki Minaj (with microphone) performs “Trini Dem Girls” at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, August 30, 2015.

The degradation of black women has long been promoted in the porn industry and dehumanizes people of color, says Carolyn West, associate professor at University of Washington.

During the second annual Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Summit held last month, West explained that words used by the sexual entertainm

(PHOTO: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE)
Lecrae poses with his award for best contemporary Christian music performance/song for “Messengers” backstage at the 57th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 8, 2015.

Professors Bun B & Anthony Pinn talk Religion and Hip-Hop Course on Ebro in the Morning!

SOURCE: HOT 97

Trip Lee, an award-winning MC, author and speaker, embraces the uniqueness of being a “pastor-rapper,” but he has some frustrations with a hypocritical hip-hop industry as well as with Christians who kick against his particular brand of artistic and cultural expression.

Lee’s dual career path is a contrast in many ways to that of another popular rapper and pastor, Mason “Ma$e” Betha. Betha has swung between putting in time at the pulpit and laying out tra

Lecrae shared his heart with Billboard magazine—no holds barred—in this video interview. Here’s one of the most powerful things he said:

“As a rapper who is a devout Christian, you would think I would struggle or wrestle with compromise because a lot of hip-hop is full of violence and misogyny and so forth but it’s not really a struggle for me because it’s not my reality. It’s not the life that I’m living.”

Watch the rest of the video to see how Lecrae is working to make an im

T.D. Jakes

Rapper Jeezy (also known as Young Jeezy) recently released a remix of his song “Holy Ghost.” But, before listeners hear the artist rap about stealing a car, having sex with a woman, and his own wealth, they hear Bishop T.D. Jakes preaching:

Touch somebody and say ‘I’m still on fire.
I’m under attack, but I’m still on fire.
I’ve got some chatter, but I’m still on fire.
I’ve got some threats, but I’m still on fire.
I’ve got some liabilities, but I’m still on fire.
It’s not amazing that

It’s hard for fully dressed female rappers to find an audience—particularly those who claim to follow Jesus. A small sorority in an already niche music market, these Christian performers are up against the economic pressures of the industry as well as the cultural expectations often heaped upon women of faith.

Take Houston native HillaryJane for example. Earlier this year, the 20-year-old, once-homeless singer, who began leading preteens in church choirs when

Lecrae made history with his brand-new single “All I Need Is You” this week, becoming the first Christian hip-hop artist of all time to ever reach the number-one spot on iTunes.

The rapper spoke with The Christian Post about the achievement this week and stated that he does not view it as something to brag about.

“I don’t look at it that way,” the rapper said to CP on Wednesday. “I think it’s phenomenal to make music that challenges people to think on morality, spirituality and the bettermen

Christian hip-hop has made some notable inroads in the last few years, especially in the mainstream market. Popular rapper Lecrae has won Grammy, Stellar, and Dove awards, and he, along with other Christian artists, appear regularly on networks like BET and MTV. Does this mean the movement that emerged in the early ’80s as Gospel rap has finally arrived?

The question might be especially relevant after it was reported that recording artists Flame, Lecrae, and others filed a lawsuit ag